


A Friendly Face

by whenshewrites



Series: A Collection of One-Shots and Tumblr Prompts [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Beta Derek Hale, Derek Comes to Beacon Hills, First Meetings, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Meet-Cute, One Shot, Post Laura Hale Death, Pre-Slash, Sad Derek Hale, Sheriff Stilinski's Diet, Stiles Stilinski is a Mess, Stiles and curly fries, Tumblr Prompt, pre-Season One
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:20:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26094772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whenshewrites/pseuds/whenshewrites
Summary: “So,” Stiles said, resting his chin on his hands. “You’re new here.”“Not exactly.”The words seemed to surprise Stiles as much as they surprised Derek. Because he hadn’t meant to say a word. But Stiles was looking interested now and Derek sighed.“I grew up here.”And why the hell was he sharing his life story with a teenager? Derek blinked down at his hands, confused for a second. But Stiles seemed perfectly content to fill the silence.“Dude, seriously? I swear, I’ve never seen you around before.”“It’s been a few years.”
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: A Collection of One-Shots and Tumblr Prompts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956889
Comments: 44
Kudos: 528
Collections: Sterek Goodness





	A Friendly Face

Derek had felt the bonds break.

He’d felt it before; when he’d been on his knees in front of his burning childhood home. Peter had compared it to losing a limb once, but Derek thought he felt it a little different. He felt like it was taking a long nap in the middle of the day and waking up to find the house was empty.

There was no one else around. He had no idea where they’d gone. 

But they never came back.

It was the panic, the pain, and the confusion that came after that. That’s what Derek felt. He thought he’d rather lose a limb if he was being honest. Because at least that would be some sort of understanding. At least he would actually _know_ what he lost.

Instead, he just felt like something he didn’t understand was missing.

Derek had felt the bonds break. Those with Laura, that is. One moment, he’d been making breakfast in their apartment back in New York, checking his phone periodically for an update from her. The next, his food had been burning, the alarm overhead had been going off, and all Derek could do was stay curled up in the corner feeling like _something was wrong._

Fast forward two weeks later and Derek found himself back in Beacon Hills.

He’d never wanted to come back to Beacon Hills.

Derek knew he was supposed to head straight to… well, he was supposed to head straight home. The deer with the spiral had been found near there after all. Laura had said she’d go there first. And Derek… Derek knew where he was supposed to go. Looking for her.

Looking for her body.

But he found himself driving further into town instead. When Derek stopped, he was sitting in front of his favorite diner from so many years ago. Some part of him was still surprised it was here. Some part of him felt like he was fifteen years old again, with Laura in the driver’s seat, Cora in the back, and his little brothers making excited noises from both of her sides.

Laura had waitressed there for a while. She took them to work with her sometimes and served free milkshakes all day.

Derek closed his eyes for a long moment and felt like something was missing.

There was the smell of ice cream and burgers that felt so familiar when he stepped inside. Derek nearly turned tail and walked right back out then, taking a shaky step forward and letting the waitress lead him to the nearest booth. 

Laura had always made fun of him for being a ‘vanilla’ person. She always went with chocolate, Cora was a steadfast strawberry lover. Derek’s little brothers would have gotten a mix of all three plus more if they had the choice.

“What can I get you, hon?”

For a moment, all Derek could do was stare down at the menu. His heart hurt and his chest felt hollow. But then, taking a deep breath, he quietly ordered a vanilla milkshake and tried not to break down in the booth as the waitress turned away.

If he got lost deep enough in his thoughts, he could pretend that Laura was moving around behind the counter a little ways away, smiling brightly at customers and singing along to her favorite 80’s songs that came on through the speakers. He could pretend he’d come here to tell her hello. Not wish her goodbye.

Goodbye. _Dammit._

Suddenly, Derek felt like he’d made a mistake coming.

But before he could shove himself up and flee the diner, someone was sliding into the booth opposite him. Derek was struck by the scent of _home_ and for a moment, was sure he’d see Laura and her confused “why are you here?” expression.

But it wasn’t Laura. In fact, it wasn’t anyone he recognized.

The bright-eyed kid opposite him had a buzz cut and wore way too many layers of plaid, grinning warmly as he grabbed Derek’s menu and dragged it toward himself. Derek didn’t know what to do, sure he’d been mistaken for someone the kid knew, but the boy didn’t get up or freak out. Instead, he just beamed.

“Hey, dude! You seem like a friendly face, mind if I sit with you?”

Derek through that question was kind of pointless, judging by the fact that the kid was already sitting. But he just sat stock-still and silent, and the kid hummed quietly to himself, gazing over the menu.

“Oh my god, I’ve gotta get some curly fries. What did you order? I totally recommend the curly fries.”

“What are you doing.”

The kid looked up in surprise. That grin slipped for only a second before it was back again and he offered out a hand, fingers wiggling through the air. “Yikes, sorry, man. I’m Stiles!”

Derek didn’t take his hand, raising an eyebrow and trying to look as threatening as possible. But although Stiles’s scent tinged with nervousness for a second, he didn’t act on it, shrugging and lowering his hand again instead.

“I’m gonna get curly fries. Oh! And a milkshake. Best combination ever.”

Derek scowled, opening his mouth again, but then the waitress from earlier was back, sliding the milkshake across the table. Stiles straightened with a bright expression and the woman sighed, resting her hands on her hips.

“Stiles, are you bothering this poor boy?”

Derek didn’t know the last time he’d been called a _boy._ He glanced down at himself and was pretty sure Laura would have burst into laughter if she’d heard that. She would’ve held it over his head for weeks.

Stiles just looked offended. “What, me? Bothering? Why ever would you say that?”

The waitress shook her head and glanced at Derek. “Is he bothering you, hon? Stiles here likes to make friends with every new stranger he comes across.”

Derek blinked and Stiles made a noise like a dying cat, his scent flushing with embarrassment. For a moment, Derek was tempted to say yes, he was being a bother, because the kid was, wasn’t he? But then he just shook his head and the woman chuckled, nodding.

“Alrighty, then. Stiles, be good.”

“Pfft, sure. Can I get curly fries and a shake? The usual flavor.”

“Does your father even know you’re here?”

“Excuse me,” Stiles said, puffing out his chest. “But that’s exactly why I’m here. Don’t think I don’t know that he comes every couple of days to get a burger _and_ a slice of pie. He denies everything, of course, but I know.”

The waitress only shook her head, taking the menu and turning away. Once more, Derek was left alone with the kid and he was surprised to find himself a little nervous. But not just because he didn’t know this kid.

Something about him was nervewracking.

Stiles didn’t look older than seventeen and his scent was… strange, to say the least. Derek stared at him until Stiles glanced back, offering a friendly smile, and then Derek looked sharply away. He didn’t know who the hell this kid was, but he smelled _wrong._

Or maybe so right it seemed wrong.

“So,” Stiles said, resting his chin on his hands. “You’re new here.”

“Not exactly.”

The words seemed to surprise Stiles as much as they surprised Derek. Because he hadn’t meant to say a word. But Stiles was looking interested now and Derek sighed.

“I grew up here.”

And why the hell was he sharing his life story with a teenager? Derek blinked down at his hands, confused for a second. But Stiles seemed perfectly content to fill the silence.

“Dude, seriously? I swear, I’ve never seen you around before.”

“It’s been a few years.”

“Oh yeah? Why are you back?”

That hit Derek like a blow. He looked sharply back up, going on his guard for a second. Because who the hell slid into booths with a stranger? Who the hell asked questions like that? He studied Stiles’s face, searching for some kind of give-away, but Stiles just looked genuinely interested. Derek tried to swallow past the lump in his throat.

“I’m looking for someone.”

Not exactly a lie. He still felt a little sick, everything coming back to him in a rush again. 

He wasn’t looking for someone. He was looking for a body.

Stiles studied his face for a second and then the boy’s face softened. He picked at the hem of his shirt until the waitress came back over with a plate of curly fries and then his scent brightened considerably again. Stiles took them with a low crooning noise and Derek found himself smiling a little. She also slipped a milkshake across the table and Stiles beamed.

“You, Mandy, are a goddess.”

“Hush, Stiles.”

“Though, you’d be even _more_ of a goddess if you’d tell me what days my dad comes by…”

“Not a chance.”

Stiles sighed as the woman turned away, poking at his plate. To Derek’s questioning gaze, he just shrugged. “My dad’s on a diet for his heart. But he’s a little cheat.”

Derek swallowed a chuckle.

Stiles’s scent was all over the place as he dug into his curly fries. Derek was pretty sure he even caught the scent of arousal and he didn’t know what the hell to do with _that._ He also was pretty sure he shouldn’t be staring again, his milkshake slowly melting in front of him. But for the moment, his thoughts were anywhere but his reason for being in Beacon Hills and Derek actually felt relaxed.

The moment he came to that realization, he was thrown through an entirely new loop.

After a few seconds, Stiles glanced up, mouth still full of fries. His face turned red and he grinned sheepishly— as well as he could grin with a full mouth, at least. And Derek was startled again as the kid pushed the plate across the table.

“Want some?”

Derek started to shake his head but then Stiles’s scent tinged with disappointment. So instead, Derek reached out a took a few. Stiles swallowed and beamed.

“Milkshake, dude. Dip them in.”

“What?”

Bright eyes rounded. “Oh my god, tell me you’ve done that before.”

Derek just looked silently at him and Stiles groaned. He grabbed a few fries and dipped them into Derek’s milkshake before shoving them at Derek’s face. He just stared.

Stiles’s face turned red again. Slowly, he set them on the edge of the plate.

“Sorry, that was weird.”

Derek thought Stiles himself was a little weird. But he just picked the fries up and took a bite. Stiles studied his face and Derek chewed for a moment before nodded. “Not bad.”

“Not bad? It’s fantastic!”

Once more, Derek forced away a small smile. But Stiles was grinning bright enough for both of them.

“So, are you sticking around, then? Once you’ve found this person?”

The lump in his throat came back.

Derek hadn’t really thought about that, to be honest. He’d spent so much time waiting in New York, sure that Laura was fine. He was feeling things. She was going to come back soon, or send him a text, or do something to let him know she was alright. Everything was alright.

No bonds had been broken.

But then that never happened. And by the time Derek had come to realize everything wasn’t alright, he’d gone from sorrow to anger in a second. He’d driven straight here, determined to find her, find her body, find her killer.

And make them pay.

Then he’d entered Beacon Hills and quickly felt like a fifteen-year-old kid again. He was terrified. He didn’t want to be back here. Not ever again.

Stiles looked at him carefully. Derek swallowed hard.

“I don’t know.”

“Oh,” the kid said. He glanced down at his milkshake, then offered a small smile upward. “Well, if you do, I come here almost every other day. I mean, school starts up again soon, so I might not that often, but you never really know! And uh… if you ever need a friend—”

“I’m fine.”

Derek almost expected Stiles’s face to fall. But the boy just gave him a sad look. “Okay. More fries?”

Derek couldn’t wrap his head around this kid. Stiles rambled off into a totally different subject and Derek just found himself staring. Again. Because what the hell was a Stiles? He wasn’t leaving, even as Derek stayed silent. He didn’t seem deterred, even as Derek turned his eyes down to his milkshake and didn’t move.

Then suddenly, Stiles’s scent changed. Derek glanced back up to see Stiles’s attention fixed across the room. He followed his gaze to see an older man in a Sheriff’s uniform approaching the front counter and then Stiles swore, pushing himself up.

“I’ve got you, old man.”

Derek raised an eyebrow and Stiles instantly flushed. He slipped out his wallet, pulling out a twenty, and placed it on the table. Derek was pretty sure that was a lot more than what a milkshake and fries cost, but then the boy gave him a friendly smile.

“Consider yourself covered, Derek.”

Something in Derek’s chest tightened. He just nodded.

“I’ve got to go stop my dad from making a poor life decision but… it was nice to meet you!” Stiles continued. He searched Derek’s face and then offered out a hand. This time, Derek took it. “See you around?”

“Maybe.”

Stiles grinned and started away. Derek watched him until the boy was engaged in a conversation with the older man and then he turned back to his milkshake. Mandy came back over, taking Stiles’s empty drink and plate, and gave him a warm look.

“Can I get you anything else, hon?”

Throat tight, Derek shook his head. He got one more smile before she turned away.

When he glanced back again, the place where Stiles had been was empty. Derek felt a strange feeling at that; not hollow exactly. In fact, he didn’t feel nearly as hollow as he had when he’d first entered the diner. The sudden change was strange. 

But he didn’t feel as empty. 

Like… one bond had been broken. But another one had been made.

Shaking his head, Derek pushed himself up. He didn’t know if he’d ever even see Stiles again. Or if he’d even stay in Beacon Hills for much longer. But the scents of Stiles remained around the booth and Derek almost found himself calmed by them.

It took him a few moments to realize he’d never even given Stiles his name.

But hadn’t the kid used it?

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt of "You seem like a friendly face, mind if I sit with you?" and I wasn't sure where I wanted to take this until I started writing. But I'm kind of happy with how it turned out! Of course, I'd love to hear what you all thought. You all are amazing!


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